Featured Reviews

Dry River ‘Lovat’ Gewurztraminer 2016

21 April,2017

Many aficionados would say that the aromatic whites of Dry
River are the best wines from this iconic Martinborough winery. The Riesling, Pinot Gris and Gewurztraminers
from Dry River can certainly be counted mong this country’s best expressions of
these varieties. Much of the quality
comes from vine age, but also the low yields and picking at the ideal time to make
the desired styles. With Pinot Gris and
Gewurztraminer, generally later picking has lent the Dry River wines with a
degree of richness, fruit weight and unctuous texture that few other wineries
match. Of course, late picking is very
vintage dependant, and the luxury of doing so without any pressure of disease
occurs less often than desired. The
original Gewurztraminers came from the ‘Dry River Estate’, the plantings coming
from cuttings from Bill and Denis Irwin’s Matawhero vines, but these are now
gone.. To ensure consistency and health
of the Gewurztraminer, Neil and Dawn McCallum obtained the new ‘Colmar’ clones of
the variety, and planted them in the ‘Lovat’ vineyard. These vines are around 23 y.o. now, and have
been performing beautifully for many years.
I tasted the 2016 ‘Lovat’ Gewurztraminer at the 2017 Autumn Release mail
order tasting (click here to see my report).
All of the 2016 whites showed the style of freshness and vitality, maybe
a little less richness and unctuousness, but to compensate, the aromatics are
more piquant and pronounced. Here is my ‘Feature
Review’ of the 2016 ‘Lovat’ Gewurztraminer.
www.dryriver.co.nz

FEATURED WINES IN THIS REVIEW

Dry River ‘Lovat’ Martinborough Gewurztraminer 2016

Gewurztraminer from New Zealand – Wairarapa & Wellington

19+/20

Bright, light golden-hued yellow with some depth, a little
lighter on the edge. The nose is very
fresh with refined and tightly bound, concentrated and penetrating with aromas
of rose-petals and exotic florals, with notes of ripe yellow stonefruits unfolding
a layer of musk entwined with nuances of honey and nuts. Medium to taste and medium-full bodied, the
palate has bright, lively and rich with exotic fruit flavours of rose-petals
and florals entwined with tropical fruits and yellow stonefruits, forming a
concentrated core with notes of musk, spices and nutty elements. The palate has a firm line enlivened by
refreshing, steely acidity, and the wine flows smoothly with fine textures
guiding the flavours to a very long and sustained off-dry finish showing musk,
florals, spices and honey. This is a
tightly bound and concentrated medium Gewurztraminer with rich, but firm
flavours of exotic florals, musk, spices and honey on a fresh, linear palate
with a long, lingering finish. Serve
with Asian and Middle Eastern fare over the next 5+ years. The fruit with shrivel harvested in 4 stages,
the earliest pick comprising 12% of the wine fermented in and aged 8 months in
a seasoned hogshead barrel, the remaining picks, the last with heavy botrytis
infection, fermented in stainless-steel and aged 6 month on lees. The wine is 13.5% alc. and approx. 20 g/L RS,
with TA 5.5 g/L and pH 3.46. 19.0+/20 Apr 2017
RRP $45.00

Pale straw-yellow colour.
The nose is intensely perfumed with rose-petal and exotic florals, notes
of Turkish Delight, the aromatics with depth and penetration. Medium in sweetness and medium-full bodied,
the palate has opulent and exotic flavours in the floral spectrum, with
rose-petals and Turkish Delight and subtle notes of musk and honey. The wine is very smooth in texture, the
phenolics totally integral, and the acidity providing good freshness and tension. There is some alcohol power, in excellent
balance, driving the wine. This has linearity
and length. Fruit from the ‘Lovat’
vineyard, fermented with 10% in oak to 13.5% alc. and 20 g/L RS. 19.0-/20
Mar 2017 RRP $47.00